The former president, who now aspires to the role of first gentleman, beat his impeachment rap back in the day. Remember, Clinton wasn’t officially brought to bear for sexual transgressions or for lying to the public. His legal problems involved perjury and obstruction.

No, it isn’t just gossip or media frenzy when we hear women publicly accuse Trump — or when we get a taste of Clinton’s backroom maneuverings via WikiLeaks.

John Adams, one of the nation’s founders, said the people have “an indisputable, unalienable, indefeasible, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge, I mean, of the characters and conduct of their rulers.”

Citizens are getting the chance to know about Clinton’s actions as secretary of state, her seemingly contradictory public and private postures on trade, fracking and borders, the handling of her emails.

Trump’s resume consists of his businesses. So the bankruptcies, taxes, personal and social behavior, past interactions with people, and truthfulness or lack of it all add up to the only body of “envied knowledge” the voters have to go on.

So it was a bit shocking when Trump’s presumed friend, defender and ally Newt Gingrich gave the candidate a pretty shaky character reference on Thursday.

“Look, first of all, let me just say about Trump, who I admire and I’ve tried to help as much as I can, there’s a Big Trump and a Little Trump,” Gingrich told Fox Business News.